PANEL WILL EVALUATE COUNTY PAY

JACKSON - The Cape Girardeau County Salary Commission will hold its first meeting in several years Monday to discuss a request from the public administrator for a pay increase and to consider possible pay increases for county elected officials.

Public Administrator John Ferguson is requesting that his basic salary be increased from $4,000 to $10,000, in accordance with legislation passed recently. Though the public administrator and county coroner are not members of the salary commission, pay increases for those offices are handled through the commission.

Cape Girardeau County elected officials have not had an increase in pay since 1987.

Several years ago the Missouri General Assembly passed legislation establishing salary commissions in each county, made up of most county elected officials, to set pay guidelines. Previously, lawmakers had set salaries and there was some complaining that certain groups of officeholders were getting larger raises because of greater lobbying influence in the legislature.

The bill established pay guidelines for each county office, based in part on population and assessed valuation of counties. Pay commissions in each county met in 1987 and had to take the same percentage of the maximum salary for each office. Cape Girardeau County officeholders received 100 percent.

County Clerk Rodney Miller explained that since the salary commission is required to meet in odd numbered years, the request from Ferguson provided a good opportunity to meet.

"There has been a request from the public administrator to consider a salary change, that must go before the salary commission. I don't know if we can do that. We are waiting for the prosecutor to give us a legal opinion on it," said Miller.

"He (Ferguson) had been asking for a meeting, and since we had not met for a while, we thought we ought to meet. Whether the salary commission makes any decisions at this time other than public administrator, is yet to be seen."

Any pay increase for other officeholders could not be taken until their next term of office. The law also requires that each officeholder be given the same percentage increase.

Ferguson contends that the law for public administrators, however, allows them to take a pay increase this year. Ferguson was re-elected to a second four-year term last November.

Public administrators also receive some fees, and statutes allow second class counties to pay $10,000 in salary, if fees earned do not exceed $25,000 annually.

"We have interpreted the law to mean that it can begin in 1993 and that if the salary commission takes action, I will qualify now," said Ferguson.

Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Gene Huckstep agrees with Miller that the Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle will have to provide "the legal parameters on what the salary commission can do."

The public administrator is responsible for taking care of individuals who are declared incapacitated or disabled by the court, or who are in need of a guardian or conservator. Ferguson said he currently handles 95 cases that require him to oversee 75 different checking accounts and handle 600 pieces of mail a month.

Ferguson stressed that his job is a big responsibility and he deserves the pay increase. "I can take that check with a very clear conscience and a very clean pocketbook," remarked Ferguson.

"My question will be, if everybody took 100 percent of the last salary raise, why shouldn't I be entitled to this $10,000," said Ferguson.

Huckstep recalled some of the problems with the original county salary law, which was tilted in favor of prosecutors and sheriffs. The maximum salaries for those offices were such an increase over what they were receiving, that county officials had to vote a large percentage of the maximum for everyone to avoid having some officeholders receive a pay cut.

Cape Girardeau County Circuit Clerk Charles P. Hutson is required by law to convene Monday's 9 a.m. meeting of the salary commission. The meeting will be held in the county commission's chambers in the County Administration Building in Jackson.

Hutson, whose salary is set by the state, is not part of the salary commission. The first item of business is to elect a chairman from the group of elected officials.